Fevered
by BBCGirl72
Summary: In which Merlin has a fever and Arthur is very cute. Merthur fluffiness. Slight Morgwen if you squint in the dark. Chapter 4 is up! Reviews are greatly appreciated! :) Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of it's characters, sadly.
1. Chapter 1

Merlin gripped the blankets around him.

He was cold. Really cold.

His whole body was shuddering even though he was buried under about eleven blankets. He was sweating like crazy, his dark hair pasted to his forehead.

Fever was a strange thing.

Merlin forced himself to open his eyes. He looked blearily around the room. The young warlock was in a place that was not so unfamiliar yet very unfamiliar. Merlin was in the prince's chambers. He was lying on Arthur's plush bed.

_Well, this is quite a change,_ Merlin thought.

He allowed his eyes to drift closed.

After God knows how long, warmth spread through the servant's right hand.

Merlin's eyes fluttered open and turned his head to the right.

Pain, like someone was driving a sword into his skull, shot through Merlin's head. He grinded his teeth together. Damned headaches reappeared whenever he moved.

But this time, moving had been worth it. Arthur sat by Merlin's side on a three-legged stool, Merlin's cold, pale hand folded in the prince's warm, tanned ones.

Merlin tried for a smile but ended up wincing.

_Note to self, don't try to smile at Arthur._

_Self to note,_ shut up.

Merlin studied the prince, enjoying the warmth of Arthur, the heat crawling from his hand in Arthur's throughout his entire being.

Arthur was wearing a loose blue tunic, brown trousers, and worn brown boots. His blonde hair was rumpled and his blue eyes were shiny with – tears? No, no way the prince cared about his servant that much.

Not that Merlin cared about the pratty prince, either.

_You are an extraordinarily terrible liar, even when you're lying to yourself,_ Merlin thought.

Arthur reached out a tan hand; the other firmly locked on Merlin's pale hand, and brushed Merlin's dark curls off of his forehead.

_Maybe he _does _care about me… _Merlin dared to think.

Arthur's hand stopped stroking the young warlock's hair and gingerly felt Merlin's forehead.

Arthur's face fell and his hand began stroking Merlin's damp hair again.

Merlin's eyelids grew heavy, so he let them close.

The young warlock thought he heard Arthur humming a song to him, which was quickly quieted by some 'shhing' from a corner of the room that Merlin couldn't see, that sent shock waves of pain through his delicate mind.

Merlin whimpered and gripped Arthur's hand. The humming had given him a headache, yes, but it made him feel safe.

Arthur picked up his humming again, softer this time. It was barely audible. A strange sense of warmth spread through the dark-haired warlock, not just from Arthur's warm hand.

After a few minutes, Merlin felt Arthur's hand cease its stroking and his hand begin to disentangle from Merlin's tight grip. Lips pressed against his burning forehead.

Merlin whimpered, a sound like a kicked puppy. Merlin heard scuffling and the soft _thud_ that signaled that Arthur had taken his seat again. His had taken the warlock's again and Merlin relaxed.

Arthur's hand resumed its stroking of the dark locks, and Merlin allowed himself to float on the sea of gray, safe in the knowledge that Arthur was there.

_**A/N: Well? Should I continue, because I have more.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Gwen and Morgana stood crying quietly in the corner of the room, enveloped in a hug.

Arthur sat by the plush bed that was the center of the room.

Lying in the bed, covered in mounds of thick blankets, was a terminally sick Merlin, his body pale, sweaty, and shuddering.

The girls and the blonde prince knew that Gaius was working on an antidote, but it was controversial whether or not it would be done before the young servant…passed on.

The thought made both Gwen and Morgana choke up.

Arthur leaned forward slightly toward his shivering manservant, one hand clamped around Merlin's, the other stroking back Merlin's dark, damp curls.

When Arthur had heard the news of Merlin's sickness, he had immediately rushed to the boy's side. Gwen and Morgana had recognized the protectiveness and love that had blazed like fire in the young prince's clear blue eyes.

The ward and her maidservant both knew that the prince loved his servant.

They'd actually known for quite a while now, but Merlin's fever had only lit the fuse of the bomb that was sure to someday go off.

Arthur, back in the here and now, began humming a song, a lullaby both the ward and the prince had been sung as children. It softened Morgana's heart.

Gwen hissed, "Shh!", sure that the song would cause Merlin more unnecessary pain.

Arthur quit, and Merlin whimpered softly. Morgana could hear that Arthur had picked up his humming under his breath. Merlin stopped whimpering.

Arthur now glanced over at his sister and her servant, his hand still stroking his servant's hair.

The dark-haired girls immediately tried to make themselves look presentable. They brushed off their dresses and wiped at the tears streaming from their eyes. No reason to get Arthur worked up about them.

Arthur ignored that, though, and pressed his lips to Merlin's forehead. He was the future king of Camelot, and these were people he cared very dearly for.

The prince stood, ceased the stroking of his servant's dark curls, and began to pull his hand from Merlin's so that he could comfort the girls when Merlin made the most horrible noise, like a kicked puppy.

The sound brought a fresh wave of tears to the girls' faces.

Arthur's attention instantly snapped back to his sick manservant. He sat back down on the wooden three-legged stool and gripped Merlin's fingers, his other hand taking up its soothing stroking again.

The young boy seemed to relax more after Arthur sat down again, though he murmured a few strange words in a language that did not sound like English.

Morgana and Gwen, clinging to one another, left the prince's chambers as silently as possible.

It was clear that Arthur needed some alone time with Merlin, even though it broke both girls hearts to go.

_**A/N: I wrote this when I wrote chapter 1. It is meant to tell you who was in the corner that Merlin could not see, and what their reaction to his sickness was. Should I continue? Next chapter would be out of Merlin and Arthur's POV. **_


	3. Chapter 3

It was dark when Merlin opened his eyes again.

The boy glanced around the large room, trying to understand what had awoken him.

Pale white moonlight filtered in through a window, a slight breeze ruffling the red curtains. Merlin shivered as the cold breeze touched a bit of bare skin on his arm. Certainly, that wasn't what had woken him.

For hours, Merlin had floated on the strange sea of gray, only conscious of Arthur's humming and his chilly hand folded in the prince's warm ones.

_Arthur,_ Merlin thought suddenly. Where was the young prince?

Merlin turned his head, though it protested, and his eyes landed on the future king.

Merlin drank in the sight of Arthur.

The future king of Camelot was asleep on the wood stool. He was slouched, slouched in the way that princes were _never _supposed to slouch. His blonde hair was tousled and drool was pooling at the edge of his mouth.

Arthur was snoring quite loudly. Possibly that had been what had woken his manservant.

Merlin's small hand was still enveloped in Arthur's tan hands.

The manservant smiled.

Actually smiled.

It seemed that the fever has lessened enough to allow Merlin that pleasure.

Arthur's snoring paused for a moment as he sniffed loudly, then smacked his lips slightly and the sounds emitting from the prince went back to steady breathing and loud snores.

Arthur was really cute when he was asleep.

A stray strand of hair fell across Arthur's forehead. Merlin longed for the strength to push the blonde lock back into its place, but the weight of being awake for even five minutes weighed on the warlock. Merlin felt his strength sapping and his eyelids growing heavy. The manservant desperately fought it, but weariness dragged him down into sleep.

Arthur dreamed.

Of course, it was a fact that everyone dreamed, but the prince had never retained the memories for long.

But this time was different. He remembered.

The prince dreamed of someone he'd never dreamed about before.

Merlin.

Once, the manservant sat in a field of tall, green, dewy grass, watching the stars fade from the sky as the sun rose in the east.

In another, Merlin kissed Arthur's forehead, and then planted a kiss right on the prince's mouth. The manservant had gone red to the tips of his large ears and had rushed away.

Arthur was desperate to stop him, but never could. The dreams froze him in place. But that was okay, normally. As long as the prince could see his dark-haired manservant, his heart rate would quit racing so badly and the fear rising in his throat to choke him would allow itself to be swallowed.

Back in the here and now, Arthur opened his eyes very slowly.

A third dream, one of him and Merlin holding hands whilst they watched a fire, had just ended abruptly. What had woken the young prince?

Arthur inhaled deeply and sat up. He was curious to why he hadn't fallen off the stool in his sleep, though grateful.

Arthur looked down at his sick manservant and was surprised when clear blue eyes blinked up at him. A grin spread across the prince's face.

"Hey, sleepy head," he murmured.

Merlin seemed incapable of replying, but the ghost of a smile danced across his pink lips.

Arthur rubbed his forefinger in soothing circles on the servant's right hand as he winced from pain. Possibly his headaches had come back, or he just hurt.

"Shh," Arthur said softly as Merlin opened his mouth and tried to speak, followed by a short cringe of pain. "No words. Rest and get your strength back. Plenty of time for speech then,"

Merlin shut his mouth and stared at the blonde prince.

_Not such a prat right now, _Merlin thought. _He's actually being sweet._

Arthur smiled and squeezed his servant's hand gently. "_Rest, Mer_lin." He said teasingly.

Merlin's eyelids grew heavy once again.

Right before the servant fell into sleep, he heard Arthur say three words quietly to him.

_**A/N: Very fluffy chapter. Should I continue? Next chapter Merlin would be able to speak! More angst and cuteness to come. :) Also, thank you for all of the reviews! I don't believe I've gotten so many reviews for a story before. I'm glad you like it! :) **_


	4. Chapter 4

Merlin woke to sunlight. Sunlight turned the insides of his eyelids orange. The warlock's eyelids fluttered open and he sucked in a deep breath. Hmm, there wasn't so much a weight on his chest as there had been for the last few days. Maybe he could speak…

Merlin turned his head and his heart sank. Arthur was no longer standing vigil by Merlin's side. Not that he needed to. Arthur was a prince after all, and Merlin was a simple servant…

Merlin felt a tingling in his hand and he looked down at it. He seemed to be better. He could make small movements without stabs of pain shooting through him. Merlin's hand was encased in a thin layer of gold.

_Magic, _the young servant thought. _Oh, God, if Arthur saw it – _

Merlin's thought was cut off as the door creaked open. Merlin shoved his hand under the thick sheet he was lying under and gave a soft groan, his blue eyes closing momentarily.

_Note to self: No quick movements. _

Fortunately, Gaius was the person who had entered the room. Merlin released the breath he realized he had been holding.

If it had been anyone else – Morgana, Arthur, Uther, even Gwen – he would've been in trouble.

"How are you feeling?" Gaius asked, pulling up a chair at the warlock's side.

Merlin opened his mouth to reply and was surprised when words came out.

"Better." The single word sounded scratchy and rough, but hey, it was something.

A big grin spread across the old physician's face. "Good to see you talk."

Merlin returned the smile. It was strange how much energy speaking a single word took out of him.

Gaius handed Merlin a small bottle full of a strange blue liquid.

"Sleeping draft. Take it when you are ready to sleep. It'll help you recover," Gaius patted Merlin's hand and rose from the chair. The old physician left the room quietly.

The young warlock sighed and settled down in his blankets, staring at the bottle. Should he take it, or wait for Arthur to return? He needed to talk to Arthur.

A burning in Merlin's chest had begun, something that was currently pleasant but threatened to become painful with each breath Merlin took. The servant knew he needed rest soon.

Merlin's eyelids grew heavy, just as something – no, some_one _settled down in the chair that Gaius had vacated.

"Hello, _Mer_lin." A familiar voice teased. Merlin felt a smile spread across his face, a big, stupid smile.

"Gaius told me you are capable of speaking now, but he also said you were quite tired."

Merlin nodded.

"Can you say something to me? It's been forever since I've heard your voice."

Merlin laughed silently.

"You missed my voice?" he croaked. "I thought there'd never be a day I heard that sentence,"

Arthur laughed and gave a brilliant smile that made Merlin's heart flutter.

"Am I delirious?" Merlin asked. "Because I don't think you've ever been this kind to me."

Arthur sighed. "Merlin, you never thought maybe there was a reason I was mean to you?"

The servant shook his head, sending stabs of pain through his brain. He winced. Arthur took Merlin's hand gently.

"I'll tell you when you're better. No reason for you to have to deal with it now."

Merlin sighed. He quite liked Arthur taking his hand, but he didn't like Arthur not telling him something.

But Merlin did not want Arthur to leave, so instead he asked, "What were you singing me?"

Arthur paused, as if confused, and then grinned.

"It's nothing, just a lullaby my father sung to me as a child."

Merlin smiled softly. "Do you think you could sing it again?"

Arthur hit his servant's shoulder gently. "You really _are _a girl, _Mer_lin."

But the prince began to hum the tune softly under his breath, and Merlin closed his eyes, letting the music float him along the sea of gray.

_**A/N: I'm not so sure about this chapter, so feedback is loved. In fact, feedback is ALWAYS loved! :) If you guys like this chapter I'll continue. I wrote this out of a spurt of pure writing passion so, yeah… Anyway, thanks!**_


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